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Let me off the grid! A journey toward artful, holistic living in the middle of Sin City...

A journey toward artful, holistic living in the middle of Sin City...

Tuesday, October 28, 2014

A Shrine for my Mother

A while back, my friend, Jamie and I were prowling through antique stores in Boulder City and I found this

Kind of blurry - sorry

It was love at first sight and since it was only $35, I had to have it. I immediately thought "ofrenda" for Dia de los Muertos. Well, that day is fast approaching and it's looking pretty bare. Meaning I need to stop procrastinating and get it together.

I have been thinking about making shrines for my parents for a long time. That's all I've been doing. Thinking about it. For years. For some reason, I've had a really difficult time doing it. The loss of my parents (my mom in 1985 and my dad in 1997) was nothing less than devastating. My mom, who was my best friend in so many ways, was only 48 when she died of complications due to multiple sclerosis. The older I get, the more I miss her. My father was 59 when he died. I am so grateful that I really got to know him during the last three years of his life. He'd come out to visit and we'd stay up all night long talking about everything. I've never thought, "Oh, I wish I'd said this, or told him that," because I did. I just wish we'd had more time.

Today, I created my long-overdue shrine for my mother.

The lid of the box

I have been saving these crayon boxes for years (literally), thinking they'd make good shrines. They do.

Inside

I'm sure as the years go by, I'll find other things to put into and around the shrine.

It doesn't look quite so bare now.

Our Samhain/Dia de los Muertos altar has usually consisted of photographs: family, beloved pets, people who have influenced us in some way - artists, writers, musicians. I kind of like the idea of shrines, though. I'm already thinking about an accordion-type book to house all the pictures of our pets for next year's altar.

2 comments:

We lost our father nearly 21 years ago and I miss him everyday. I took one of the prayer/remembrance cards from his funeral mass, and a friend who does stained/leaded glass helped me to sandwich it between two clear pieces, and then I embellished the frame.

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IS THE MYTHOLOGIZATION OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND THE WORLD.

-- Joseph Campbell

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